A PIONEERING project to reduce the risk of older people suffering death and injury from falls is making a real impact.

Around 300 people have avoided hospital and received care and support closer to home, thanks to the Better Care Fund’s new falls service.

It’s part of Leicestershire’s £38m Better Care Fund (BCF) programme, led by the county council and a range of NHS partners, to provide better care, closer to home.

Around 60,000 older people are injured in falls each year, most commonly from hip fracture. Treating injuries caused by falls costs the NHS on average £28,000 per person and for many the personal cost is even greater.

BCF has funded the redesign of the Leicestershire falls service, in which 118 trained paramedics now assess people who have suffered a fall to determine whether community-based care is a better option than admitting them to hospital.

One example was when paramedics were called to the home of an 85-year-old man who had fallen three times in the last couple of months. On hearing that the man hadn’t seen his GP since suffering falls, the paramedics contacted nurses from the falls service, who visited within one hour. The nurses reviewed his medication and provided additional support, enabling him to remain at home.

A county council spokesman said: “The new falls service is making a massive difference to older people – helping them to remain healthy and confident and avoid having to go to hospital.

“It shows how the Better Care Fund is making a difference, joining up health and care services to help people stay at home.”

Adrian Healey, service innovation and improvement manager from the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), said: “The training and improved integrated falls service ensures our paramedics can work with those patients who have had a fall and do not require hospital admission to be referred quickly and effectively.

“We attend approximately 50 calls per day to patients that have fallen across Leicestershire - the ability to refer a patient to the falls service, which provides both a rapid response and additional services to help prevent further falls, can only be a positive for patients.”

The falls service also links with work funded by the council’s public health team and delivered in Hinckley in collaboration with Age UK, offering advice, fitness workshops and Tai Chi classes, to help falls patients stay healthy and independent.

For further information on activities to help people avoid falls, see www.lrsport.org or contact 01509 564 888